The Library
by Hopeful Writer
Summary: Why isn't Seamus listed as a character? Well, this is about him. His best friend dumped him for a girl, so he starts to spend time in the library, where he becomes better friends with Hermione. PG for mild cussing. Please read. For SomeGrowYoung


Disclaimer: Me? Own Harry Potter? Are you asking me or telling me?

A/N – This is for SomeGrowYoung because I wanted her to write a Seamus/Hermione (her story wasn't) and she told me to instead. So I decided to. So here it is.

Seamus Finnegan has always been the slightly immature, kind of adorable, sometimes wild Gryffindor who's only close friend is Dean Thomas. But fifth year at Hogwarts has changed it all. Dean has a steady girlfriend now, and no time to spend with Seamus. So Seamus, devoid of any good ideas, takes to the library more and more, where he starts talking to Hermione Granger. There's a ball coming up, and suddenly Seamus is wondering about his relationships with _all_ of his friends.

Shout outs to Dreamer4, Dark Gamer, Light Gamer, EeyoreP, Knight, SaturnsChild, EvilTenchi, Galassos Gal 124, PhoniexChild, TogetherAgain, Wolfie, ArchangelUK, Arylwren, Digicowboy, Blackout12, Phire Phoenix, Authormon, Insane Friend 02, sweetchick08079, alfogamer2, Takari's Baybee, Immia, AlexPG13, and shadow2k. Dedication to SomeGrowYoung for reasons listed above.

**__**

The Library

By: Hopeful Writer

"Bloody hell, Dean! We haven't played Exploding Snap since the term started! It's almost Christmas already. You're always off with Parvati now. Where's that leave me?" Sandy-haired Seamus Finnegan was sitting on the bed in his dorm, shooting glares at the closed curtains that were his best friend. Or so he thought.

Dean's muffled voice filtered through the cloth. "Parvati's my girlfriend, Seamus. That means I'm _supposed_ to spend time with her. Besides, I really like her, Seamus. _Really_ like her."

Seamus collapsed backwards so he was laying on his back. "Whatever," he muttered darkly, glowering at the ceiling, which wasn't glaring back.

Dean opened his curtains and caught sight of the small boy. "Aw, Seamus, don't be like this. You've got to understand."

Seamus shook his head. "No, I don't. I don't understand why you can't have a girlfriend and a best friend, and why they can't be two different people."

Dean opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and whirled around so he was facing the door. "I've got to go now. See you later."

"Yeah, right." Dean left, and Seamus resumed glaring at his ceiling.

Eventually, Harry and Ron came upstairs, having seen Dean go downstairs, but not Seamus. "What's the matter?" Harry asked, seeing Seamus's unpleasantness.

Seamus stared at him. "You know, how can you put up with Ginny, Harry? (A/N – I'm not a H/G shipper or anything, I believe it's near impossible, but for the sake of the story, I put it in) Girls are the devil, I swear."

Ron laughed, and Harry looked surprised. "Who is it?" Ron wondered, sitting on his own bed and trying not to smirk. "You got a crush or something?"

Seamus snorted. "No way! I swear, girls are evil. They've corrupted Dean. And Parvati's the worst of them."

"Oh," Harry drawled. "So that's what this is about. Look, Seamus, Dean's been a pretty bad friend recently, Ron and I can see that. You've got to go make some more friends besides him. If he's really your friend, you guys will make up. If not, it's better ended anyway."

Seamus groaned. He hated admitting that Harry was right, even if he knew it. "Yeah, maybe," the sandy-haired fifth-year said neutrally. "I'm going to bed." He drew the curtains around his bed and added, "Night, Harry. Night, Ron. Thanks."

"No problem. G'night, Seamus," Harry replied. Ron grunted something of equal meaning.

* - * - *

Seamus awoke late the next morning, Saturday, and everyone was at breakfast. He decided that skipping a meal wouldn't kill him, so he ventured down to the library to see what it was all about. He realized that in five and a half years, he'd never been to the library for any extended period of time.

He wandered quietly through the stacks and cases filled with books for a while, avoiding the suspicious eyes of Madam Pince (A/N - Is that right? I can't find it in the books at the time). He could tell she didn't like him, especially since he'd never been around before. Not for long anyway.

He spotted Hermione Granger sitting at one of the tables, pouring through a stack of books. Selecting one that looked interesting from the bookcase, he plopped down next to her with a friendly greeting. "Hi, Seamus," she said, surprised. "Don't see you around here much? Where's Dean?"

Seamus glowered at the mention of his "best friend's" name. "With Parvati, of course. I've decided there might be something interesting here."

Hermione smiled. "There's loads of interesting stuff around here. What book did you get?"

Seamus read the title. "Playing Muggle." He grinned. "Now this _could_ be amusing."

"It's a fiction story." Hermione looked upset for a moment, but Seamus's beaming smile lightened her mood.

"Fiction stories are good too. This is about a kid who spends the day pretending to be a Muggle, but then he learns that it isn't so easy without a wand." Seamus grinned shyly. "You want to read it with me?" he offered.

"Well..." Hermione seemed at a loss. "Okay."

It was a fair-sized book, well over three hundred pages, and it took them several library trips to finish it. It had them laughing so hysterically at some of the things Daniel, the main character, did that Madam Pince would shoot them evil looks. She was slowly becoming accustomed to seeing them there, reading aloud softly. Sometimes they caught her lingering nearby, listening to Hermione read the story in a soft, melodic voice, or Seamus's reading, his voice rich with anticipation and laughter. Once, they swore they saw her snicker at a part, but the moment vanished as quickly as a silence can be broken.

" 'Daniel awaited his punishment bravely. He knew he had put himself at great risk by pretending to be a Muggle. But Muggles had always intrigued him. He'd found it funny how they could live so well without magic. It definitely wasn't easy. He'd learned that. He thought about the friends he made and decided maybe, just maybe, Muggles weren't so bad after all." Seamus closed the book and chanced a grin at Hermione, who was in her own world, thinking.

"They're not so bad, you know," she told him, breaking the silence. "Muggles, I mean. They may not have magic, but they get by pretty well. Electricity and such." She gave him a very serious look.

Seamus thought about it for a moment. "I suppose they're not so bad. Maybe a little naive at times, but all right. After all, my dad was Muggle, remember? And he's all right, even if he is _still_ adjusting to magic, and he and my mum have been married for twenty years already." Hermione laughed. He changed the subject. "Did you hear? Dumbledore is planning a Christmas ball for third years and up. You gonna attend?"

Hermione nodded. "Sure. It should be loads of fun. Although I'm beginning to fall behind on my schoolwork because of you and these sessions."

Seamus bit back a snicker. "You? Fall behind in your schoolwork? I doubt it."

Hermione glowered at him. "Well, okay, I'm not as ahead as I used to be."

Seamus sighed. "Relax, Mione. It won't kill you to just be on time instead of a month ahead. It'd do you good to take it easy this year. You always seem to be really stressed out. It's not good for you."

Hermione wondered when Seamus had grown up so much, and why she hadn't noticed it. "Maybe," she mumbled, not really concentrating on her answer.

"So are you going _with_ anyone?"

Hermione looked surprised. "Uh, no one's asked me yet, or anything. I'll probably go alone and just dance with whoever's there."

"Oh." Seamus looked at the table then back at Hermione. "If someone asked you, would you go with them?"

"Depending on the person, yes."

"Would you, erm, go... go with me?"

Hermione smiled shyly. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Great." Seamus picked up his stuff. "I'll wait for you in the Common Room?"

"Sounds great." Hermione beamed at him and he blushed and ran off.

* - * - *

_What did I just do?_ Seamus wondered as he made his way to the boys' dormitory. _Hermione's my friend and I just asked her to the ball. I won't have any friends left at the rate I'm going. First Dean, then Hermione. I'm gonna make them all run away._

It seemed that whenever Seamus was upset, Harry was always in the dorm room. "What's the matter this time?" he demanded, not looking up from the letter he was writing.

"I just asked Hermione to the ball."

Now Harry looked up, interested. "You did, did you? What'd she say?"

"She said yes, you dolt. Why do you think I'm so mad?"

Harry gave him a weird look. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Yes! I mean, no. I mean, oh, hell, I don't know what I mean anymore! Yes, I'm happy, but I don't want to ruin the friendship I've got with her. It's like a baby. It's still new and growing and the smallest change can kill it." Seamus felt hysterical, and he was sure that was how he sounded too.

"Calm down. Just calm down. Why did you ask Hermione to the ball?"

Seamus glared at him. "What kind of question is that? Because I like her and I wanted to..." His voice trailed off. "Oh," he whispered.

Harry grinned and started out of the room. "I think you'd better rethink your relationship with her."

As he left, Seamus thought, _I'd better rethink my relationship with all my friends._

First Dean. His best friend. A friend who never had time to spend with Seamus anymore, didn't even know Seamus had gone to the library, a place they had normally avoided together. He was too busy with Parvati to care.

Hermione. A new friend, one he'd never really thought of before. She'd always been a bookworm, he and Dean had even made fun of her for it. But now Seamus was realizing that she was more than just a bookworm. She was a person, and he really liked her. As more than a friend. As maybe a girlfriend.

Harry. Seamus and Harry had never been close before, but Harry always seemed to have the answers. He was smart and helpful and fun to be around.

Seamus sighed. Maybe he was wrong about who his real friends were.

* - * - *

Seamus spent a lot more time with Harry and Ron for the week before the ball. He still met Hermione in the library (they started and finished another book), but he also saw her outside of it, with her friends. They had quickly included Seamus in their group, and the blonde was having a lot more fun than he had in a long time. Harry and Ron were sneaky and clever, and Seamus liked that. They'd never hurt anyone, but they snuck out a lot at night.

One day they ran into Malfoy in the hallways, the day before the ball. "Well, well, if it isn't Potter, Weasel, and the Mudbloods. Two of them now." He scoffed at Harry.

"Back off, Malfoy," Harry said. "Get out of here. We outnumber you, and your stupid sidekicks aren't here to back you up."

"If you fight fair, Potter, I can take you by myself. It the four of you gang up on me..." His voice trailed off and he smirked.

"Come on, Harry," Hermione prodded. "Ignore him. He isn't worth a fight."

"Yeah, Potter, listen to your little whore."

The reaction was instantaneous. Harry and Ron spun around to curse him, but Seamus moved faster. In a flash he had punched Malfoy, sending him sprawling, and was currently beating his face into oblivion. "Seamus!" Harry's urgent voice brought the sandy-haired boy back to reality. "Let's go, Seamus." Harry put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him forward.

When they were out of Malfoy's sight and hearing, Ron let out a whoop. "You showed him, Seamus! That worked loads better than magic would have. That was brilliant!" Seamus grinned at the redhead, who looked so pleased.

Harry couldn't help but smile too. "Lucky we didn't get caught," he reminded, trying to be serious, but failing. "But that was the coolest thing I've seen since Malfoy was turned into a ferret." Ron laughed at the memory.

"Thanks." Seamus glanced at Hermione when she said that and his smile grew.

"You okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Why would I let anything _Malfoy_ says bother me?" There was a group laugh, and Seamus felt relieved that she wasn't mad at him for hitting Malfoy. Although, why would she be?

* - * - *

Seamus was tense the night of the ball. He sat in his dress robes for almost an hour, nibbling on his lips until he was sure he tasted blood. "Ready to go down?" Harry asked, when it was time.

"No," Seamus muttered darkly, but followed anyway.

Harry was wearing robes of dark green which brought out the color of his eyes. He'd managed to tame his hair (somewhat). He was going with Ginny Weasley, who was dressed in golden robes.

Ron had on navy blue robes. He was going with Lavender Brown, but Seamus didn't quite know why. Probably because they were two of the only Gryffindors that were dateless.

And Seamus was in dark gray dress robes, his sandy-blonde hair combed neatly to the side. As he entered the Common Room, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Hermione was in scarlet dress robes, looking beautiful. She had on just a touch of lipstick and blush, bringing out the softness of her features. Her hair was in a bun, with a few strands loose and framing her face. She looked radiant. 

"Shall we?" Seamus offered shyly, holding out his arm.

"We shall," she agreed, taking it. They walked towards the Great Hall.

* - * - *

The ball was great. The decorations were beautiful and the music was perfect. Seamus and Hermione danced most of the night. Fast songs, slow songs, it didn't matter. Finally Hermione pulled Seamus to the side and told him that if she didn't sit down, she'd pass out.

They sat next to Ginny and Harry, who were taking a break, too. Ginny and Hermione immediately started a conversation about some girl thing, leaving Harry and Seamus to talk. "So, how's your night going?" Harry asked, trying to begin a conversation.

Seamus grinned. "All right, and yours?"

"Good." They sat in silence for a moment before they both burst out laughing. They started talking about Quidditch and were content for a while.

* - * - *

Hermione and Seamus left right after the last dance. They needed to talk privately, so they made their way to the library. "Hermione," Seamus began, unsure of what to say, "tonight was... really great."

"Yeah."

"Hermione?" She looked in Seamus's eyes. For a minute neither of them spoke. Then Seamus continued, "I did a lot of thinking before the ball. About who were my real friends and stuff. And, um, I figured something else out. I... I like you a lot, Hermione. More than just a friend. And I wanted to ask if... if you would be my girlfriend?"

Hermione swallowed hard. She'd been afraid of this. "I will, under one condition." Seamus looked at her questioningly. "You have to promise me that, no matter what happens with our romantic relationship, be it good or bad, we'll always be friends, okay?"

"Okay." Seamus let out a sigh of relief.

"We should go back to the Common Room before we wind up out past curfew."

"Yeah." They walked towards the tower and entered happily. Everyone else had gone to bed. "Good night, Hermione. Sleep well."

"Sweet dreams," she whispered.

He grinned and tried for a corny pickup line. "Of course. I'll be dreaming about you."

Hermione looked exasperated and faked a yawn. "Old," she teased. "Good night." She kissed his lips quickly and moved up the stairs, leaving a very bewildered Seamus watching her.

He touched his lips. "Wow," he whispered. His smile grew and he sighed and walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. 

Dean confronted him when he got up there. "Hey, Seamus," he greeted, as if no time had passed.

"Hi." Seamus, on the other hand, was wary of this nice behavior.

"Um, Seamus, I'm sorry about acting like a jerk when I was going out with Parvati. We broke up tonight, and I realized that I had totally forgotten about my best friend. I... I'm sorry, really."

Seamus didn't speak for a long while. His heart said forgive him and his head said don't. Finally, he said, "I... I can't accept your apology, Dean. If you treated me like this once, who's to say that when you get another girlfriend you won't do the same thing? I think our friendship is over, or at least a lot smaller. I'm friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and besides, _I_ have a girlfriend now. Night."

With that, and not waiting for Dean to respond, he drew his curtains and went to sleep.

A/N - What did you think? You can't say Seamus and Dean are OOC because they _have_ no character. Well, I did the best I could, just a short story for SomeGrowYoung while I work on some of my bigger projects. Later.

§--HW--§ (http://www.geocities.com/msbjewel)


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